commuter van story

2
sports • B1 HOOPS SPLIT THE WINNER IS... VHS boys, WC girls win rivalry games Baylor’s Griffin wins Heisman Trophy sUNDAY, DecemBer 11, 2011 • $1.50 www.vicksBUrgpost.com everY DAY siNce 1883 WEATHER Today: mostly sunny; high of 53 tonight: mostly clear; low of 27 Mississippi River: 37.0 feet Rose: 0.6 foot Flood stage: 43 feet A9 DEATHS • Sharp W. Banks Jr. • O.D. Brown • Charles T. Ervin Sr. • Dr. Andrew W. Garcia • Raymond Smith A9 THIS WEEK IN THE CIVIL WAR Charleston fire: In April 1861, the Civil War’s first shots were fired in Charleston, S.C. Anoth- er tumultuous event be- falls Charleston on Dec. 11, 1861, when a fire sweeps a wide swath of its down- town. The cause of the fire is never determined and The Mercury of Charleston reports a low-tide impeded easy access to coastal wa- ters to douse the flames. When the fast-moving fire finally is put out, about a third of the city is in ashes. Early months of war saw ill-trained, raw volunteers from the North go off to fight green and poorly equipped Confederate ri - vals. It was a time when many expected a short con- flict. But the bloodshed at the First Battle of Bull Run in the summer of 1861 hint - ed at the bigger, deadlier battles to come. The Union, seeking to raise a profes- sional fighting force, an- nounces this week that ap- pointed superintendents will oversee recruiting, organizing and drilling of Union soldiers. INDEX Business ............................... B9 Puzzles .................................. B8 Dear Abby ........................... B7 Editorial ................................ A4 People/TV............................ B7 CONTACT US Call us Advertising ... 601-636-4545 Classifieds...... 601-636-SELL Circulation..... 601-636-4545 News................ 601-636-4545 E-mail us See A2 for e-mail addresses ONLINE www.vicksburgpost.com VOLUME 129 NUMBER 345 3 SECTIONS TOPIC CROCODILES Endangered species thriving near nuclear plants c1 ELI BAYLIS•The Vicksburg PosT Lt. Col. Jonathan Howell drives a van to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Devel- opment Center. The government ride Corps workers commuting via vans By Danny Barrett Jr. [email protected] When Lt. Col. Jonathan Howell signed on as deputy com- mander of the U.S. Army Engi- neer Research and Development Center in 2009, he jumped into three months of intense house- shopping in Vicksburg, Monroe and Jackson. “There was no on-post hous- ing at ERDC available when I was assigned,” said Howell, a third- generation military man who was used to riding a bicycle to and from his on-post quarters at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The family — wife, Irena, daugh- ter Naomi, 8, and mother-in- law, Natasha — landed in Clin- ton, about a half-hour east of Vicksburg. Now, Howell arrives at work by way of a van pool funded through federal government vouchers. About 180 Vicksburg-bound fed- eral employees do the same. “There were no rental options, and the purchase options were all either well beyond our price range or did not have the features to accommodate our extended family requirements,” said Howell of his decision to live in Clinton. The van pool is a concept borne of the energy crises of the 1970s A commuter van picks up riders at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District offices on East Clay Street. See Vans, Page A9. Census shows fewer on the road to city By Danny Barrett Jr. [email protected] Fewer people are commuting to work in Warren County. About 10.4 percent of 21,194 workers 16 years and older were counted as commuters in a five- year look at population, demo- graphic and housing statistics in an American Community Survey estimate. The survey covers 2006 through 2010. In the ACS’ five-year survey for 2005-09, commuters made up 11.2 percent of a labor force of 21,017. The local work force stood at 21,280 in October, down 1.5 per- cent from September, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Employ- ment updates for November are expected later this month. New residents who stop by the Vicksburg-Warren County Cham- ber of Commerce still receive wel- come packets with housing and demographic profiles, including the Chamber’s Images magazine, and the real estate guide pub- lished by the Vicksburg-Warren County Board of REALTORS. “The housing market is strong- er than the rental market,” said executive director Christi Kilroy, adding word of mouth outpaces such web-based resources as See Commuters, Page A9. By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The loss to Iran of the CIA’s surveillance drone bristling with advanced spy technology is more than a propa- ganda coup and intelligence wind- fall for the Tehran government. The plane’s capture has peeled back another layer of secrecy from expanding U.S. operations against Iran’s nuclear and military programs. Just as the Soviet Union’s down- ing of the American U-2 spy plane revealed a hidden aspect of the Cold War, Iran’s recovery of the Loss of drone peels back layer in US-Iran spying See Drone, Page A6. Sharp W. Banks Jr. By Pamela Hitchins [email protected] Once called “the father of the county schools,” Sharp W. Banks Jr. gave 38 years to the old Warren County Public Schools district, serving as coach, teacher, princi- pal, public address announcer and elected superintendent, and steer- ing the schools through the chal- lenges of enrollment growth in the 1960s and integration in the 1970s. Banks died Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, at Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Mandeville, La. He was 87. “He not only put his heart into his family, he put his heart into the school system and into the qual- ity of education in Warren County,” said his daughter, the Rev. Tere Banks. “He really built the Warren County school system when he spearheaded the effort to consoli- date the three county high schools and build Warren Central (High School),” said Donald Oakes, former superintendent of the Vicksburg Warren School District, formed in 1987 when the city and county schools merged. “He was recognized across the state as an excellent superintendent.” Banks was the first recipient of Banks, ‘father of county schools’ dies at 87 See Banks, Page A6.

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Page 1: Commuter van story

sports • B1

hoops split the winner is...VHS boys, WC girls win rivalry games Baylor’s Griffin wins Heisman Trophy

s U N D A Y, D e c e m B e r 11, 2011 • $ 1 . 5 0 w w w. v i c k s B U r g p o s t. c o m e v e r Y D A Y s i N c e 1883

weAtherToday:

mostly sunny; high of 53tonight:

mostly clear; low of 27Mississippi River:

37.0 feetRose: 0.6 foot

Flood stage: 43 feetA9

DeAths• Sharp W. Banks Jr.• O.D. Brown• Charles T. Ervin Sr.• Dr. Andrew W. Garcia• Raymond Smith

A9this week in

the civil wArCharleston fire:In April 1861, the Civil

War’s first shots were fired in Charleston, S.C. Anoth-er tumultuous event be-falls Charleston on Dec. 11, 1861, when a fire sweeps a wide swath of its down-town. The cause of the fire is never determined and The Mercury of Charleston reports a low-tide impeded easy access to coastal wa-ters to douse the flames. When the fast-moving fire finally is put out, about a third of the city is in ashes.

Early months of war saw ill-trained, raw volunteers from the North go off to fight green and poorly equipped Confederate ri-vals. It was a time when many expected a short con-flict. But the bloodshed at the First Battle of Bull Run in the summer of 1861 hint-ed at the bigger, deadlier battles to come. The Union, seeking to raise a profes-sional fighting force, an-nounces this week that ap-pointed superintendents will oversee recruiting, organizing and drilling of Union soldiers.

inDeXBusiness ............................... B9Puzzles .................................. B8Dear Abby ........................... B7Editorial ................................A4People/TV ............................ B7

contAct UsCall us

Advertising ...601-636-4545Classifieds ...... 601-636-SELLCirculation .....601-636-4545News................601-636-4545

E-mail usSee A2 for e-mail addresses

onlinewww.vicksburgpost.com

VOLUME 129NUMBER 3453 SECTIONS

topic

crocoDilesEndangered species

thriving nearnuclear plants

c1

eli baylis•The Vicksburg PosT

Lt. Col. Jonathan Howell drives a van to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Devel-opment Center.

The government

ride

corps workers commuting via vansBy Danny Barrett [email protected]

When Lt. Col. Jonathan Howell

signed on as deputy com-mander of the U.S. Army Engi-neer Research and Development Center in 2009, he jumped into three months of intense house-shopping in Vicksburg, Monroe and Jackson.

“There was no on-post hous-ing at ERDC available when I was assigned,” said Howell, a third-generation military man who was used to riding a bicycle to and from his on-post quarters at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

The family — wife, Irena, daugh-ter Naomi, 8, and mother-in-law, Natasha — landed in Clin-ton, about a half-hour east of Vicksburg.

Now, Howell arrives at work by way of a van pool funded through federal government vouchers. About 180 Vicksburg-bound fed-

eral employees do the same.“There were no rental options,

and the purchase options were all either well beyond our price range or did not have the features to accommodate our extended family

requirements,” said Howell of his decision to live in Clinton.

The van pool is a concept borne of the energy crises of the 1970s

A commuter van picks up riders at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District offices on East Clay Street.

See Vans, Page A9.

Census shows fewer on the road to cityBy Danny Barrett [email protected]

Fewer people are commuting to work in Warren County.

About 10.4 percent of 21,194 workers 16 years and older were counted as commuters in a five-year look at population, demo-graphic and housing statistics in an American Community Survey estimate. The survey covers 2006 through 2010.

In the ACS’ five-year survey for 2005-09, commuters made up 11.2 percent of a labor force of 21,017. The local work force stood at 21,280 in October, down 1.5 per-cent from September, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Employ-ment updates for November are expected later this month.

New residents who stop by the Vicksburg-Warren County Cham-ber of Commerce still receive wel-

come packets with housing and demographic profiles, including the Chamber’s Images magazine, and the real estate guide pub-lished by the Vicksburg-Warren County Board of REALTORS.

“The housing market is strong-er than the rental market,” said executive director Christi Kilroy, adding word of mouth outpaces such web-based resources as

See Commuters, Page A9.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The loss to Iran of the CIA’s surveillance drone bristling with advanced spy technology is more than a propa-ganda coup and intelligence wind-fall for the Tehran government. The plane’s capture has peeled back another layer of secrecy from expanding U.S. operations against Iran’s nuclear and military programs.

Just as the Soviet Union’s down-ing of the American U-2 spy plane revealed a hidden aspect of the Cold War, Iran’s recovery of the

Loss of dronepeels back layerin US-Iran spying

See Drone, Page A6.

Sharp W. Banks Jr.

By Pamela [email protected]

Once called “the father of the county schools,” Sharp W. Banks Jr. gave 38 years to the old Warren County Public Schools district, serving as coach, teacher, princi-pal, public address announcer and elected superintendent, and steer-ing the schools through the chal-lenges of enrollment growth in the 1960s and integration in the 1970s.

Banks died Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, at Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Mandeville, La. He was 87.

“He not only put his heart into his family, he put his heart into the school system and into the qual-ity of education in Warren County,” said his daughter, the Rev. Tere Banks.

“He really built the Warren County school system when he spearheaded the effort to consoli-date the three county high schools and build Warren Central (High School),” said Donald Oakes, former superintendent of the Vicksburg Warren School District, formed in 1987 when the city and county schools merged. “He was recognized across the state as an excellent superintendent.”

Banks was the first recipient of

Banks,‘father of

countyschools’

dies at 87

See Banks, Page A6.

A1 Main

Page 2: Commuter van story

Craigslist. A check of the list-ing service showed 58 items posted since Oct. 23 that detail homes for sale, rental units available or rental arrangements sought.

Kilroy used rental property owned by her husband as an example.

“Jay and I have never advertised,” Kilroy said. “Word of mouth is popular.”

Industry listing services showed median home prices for most of Vicksburg and Warren County had fallen

during the first half of 2011, to $134,815 from $135,966 during 2010.

“It always comes back to the same conversation — how do we improve hous-ing and how do we improve schools,” Kilroy said.

Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Duran Swinford said there’s good news.

An education initiative of the Chamber and the VWSD, as well as the pace of general equivalency diplomas are the

positives, she said.“We have to improve our

label, and we’ve done that this year,” Swinford said, pointing to 16 who have earned GEDs this year. The VWSD said 21 received the certificate during the 2010-11 school year.

The district maintained a lowered “Advised” accredi-tation status on an annual report for 2011 issued in October by the Mississippi Department of Education, which Swinford chalked up

to two of the district’s 541.5 full-time teachers not having proper certification to teach core subjects. This year’s report showed a 34.9 percent dropout rate for the district, a figure Swinford expects to be “dramatically reduced” next year. Statewide, the dropout rate was 17 percent.

“We didn’t get here over-night — it took a series of years,” Swinford said. “I hope to get two to four more years to improve it.”

The Leader In Me program,

based on author Stephen Covey’s books on effective leadership habits, is primed to “unleash the potential” of students at Bowmar, Bovina and Dana Road elementary schools, which have agreed to participate, Swinford said. A presentation on the initia-tive is planned Wednesday at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

“Every child has leadership capacities,” Swinford said.

and is commonplace in busy urban centers. Since 2000, the Mass Transportation and Vanpool Transporta-tion Fringe Benefit Program, an anti-pollution directive by President Bill Clinton to cut the number of vehicles on the road, has enabled the Department of Transporta-tion to issue vouchers for fuel, maintenance and other costs for federal employees. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act raised the pre-tax benefit for mass commuters everywhere from $120 a month to $230.

That extra money faded in November, ahead of many such stimulants in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will expire by year’s end. Quar-terly vouchers for van-pool-ing in 2012 will be cut to $125 a month, the Internal Reve-nue Service decided Nov. 7.

Twenty van pools rode to and from work between metro Jackson and Vicks-burg through November, according to the website of VPSI Inc., a Michigan-based van pool operator. All went to

ERDC, the Vicksburg District headquarters and the 412th Theater Engineer Command, with 16 daily routes out of Clinton. This month, the company’s routes declined to six, all to and from the Dis-trict, after ERDC inked a new deal with a similar service offered by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

The option has proved cost-effective and a morale-builder, said Howell, 39.

“It keeps you on a rigor-ous schedule,” he said. “It’s enjoyable to ride to work among a fellow group of friends.”

Van-poolers train as alter-nate drivers after records are checked by the service pro-vider. Costs to ride include state sales taxes and fuel, and total about $1,500 for a six-passenger van and about $2,000 for a full-sized, 15-pas-senger van.

Before last month, per-person costs on a small van with six riders broke down to about $250. Costs on the larger vans were between $130 and $200, depending on capacity.

“I think there may be some commuters that will drop out of the program if out-of-pocket costs get too high,” said Tim Lewis, van pool coordinator at ERDC and the 412th. Lewis credited the stimulus for ERDC’s pool growing to 15 vans through November, up from two in 2008. Lewis said ERDC’s rid-ership alone makes up about 140 of the Corps’ local van-poolers.

For loyal van-poolers such as Patrice Creel of Byram, coming up with an extra $50 to $100 a month to ride a van versus several fill-ups a month at gas stations is easier on a budget that includes her husband, Willie, and son, Samuel, 17.

“I knew it once I got the Chevron bill,” Creel said of her decision last winter to ride the 7:30 a.m. van to her new public affairs job at ERDC from her hometown of 21 years.

The decision to van pool started at home for Jackson-area suburbanites who work at ERDC and the District.

“Costs would have to go up substantially for me to stop,” said Lamar Rutland, 28, of Clinton, an engineer for Northern Projects at

the East Clay Street district base. “Clinton is a centrally located point between Jack-son, where my wife works, and Vicksburg, where I work.”

Cori Shiers, 26, a Vicksburg native and Flowood resident, rode a van from Clinton to her job with the District as an environmental special-ist until last week, when she received her own van line — dubbed Cori’s Group. It’s an arrangement she sees lasting a while.

“It’s a stress reliever,” Shiers said. “I’ve met many new people on it.”

I “grew up in Vicksburg and wanted to try some-where new,” she said. “Depending on my employ-ment, I will possibly move back to Vicksburg in the future.”

Mass transit cut congestion on the nation’s major com-muter arteries and elimi-nated nearly 8,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per person while 850,000 commuters nationwide have used the tax-free commuter benefits, according to a 2010 report by New York-based TransitCenter Inc.

The Vicksburg Post Sunday, December 11, 2011 A9

TODAY

Mostly sunny with a high in the lower 50s and a low in

the upper 20s

53°

PRECISION FORECASTBY CHIEF METEOROLOGIST

BARBIE BASSSETTTONIGHT

27°

WEATHERThis weather package is compiled from historical records and information

provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the

City of Vicksburg and The Associated Press.

LOCAL FORECASTmonday-wednesdayPartly cloudy; highs in the mid-60s; lows in the mid-

40s

STATE FORECASTToday

Mostly sunny; highs in the lower 50s; lows in the up-

per 20s

monday-wednesdayPartly cloudy; highs in the mid-60s; lows in the mid-

40s

ALmAnACHigHs and Lows

High/past 24 hours............. 51ºLow/past 24 hours .............. 35ºAverage temperature ........ 43ºNormal this date .................. 50ºRecord low .............18º in 1995Record high ...........80º in 2007

RainfaLLRecorded at the

Vicksburg Water PlantPast 24 hours ........................N/AThis month .............1.47 inchesTotal/year ............. 38.44 inchesNormal/month .....2.02 inchesNormal/year ....... 48.44 inches

soLunaR TabLeMost active times for fish

and wildlife Monday:A.M. Active ........................... 5:56A.M. Most active ...................NRP.M. Active ............................ 6:21P.M. Most active ...............12:09

sunRise/sunseTSunset today ....................... 4:58Sunset tomorrow .............. 4:58Sunrise tomorrow ............. 6:54

RIVER DATAsTages

Mississippi Riverat Vicksburg

Current: 37.0 | Change: 0.6Flood: 43 feet

Yazoo River at GreenwoodCurrent: 22.3 | Change: NC

Flood: 35 feetYazoo River at Yazoo CityCurrent: 21.0 | Change: 0.4

Flood: 29 feetYazoo River at Belzoni

Current: 20.8 | Change: 0.2Flood: 34 feet

Big Black River at WestCurrent: 3.8 | Change: -0.1

Flood: 12 feetBig Black River at BovinaCurrent: 7.1 | Change: NC

Flood: 28 feet

sTeeLe bayouLand ...................................84.4River ...................................84.2

mISSISSIPPI RIVER FORECAST

Cairo, Ill.Monday ................................. 43.8Tuesday ................................. 43.5Wednesday .......................... 42.8

MemphisMonday ................................. 26.6Tuesday ................................. 26.7Wednesday .......................... 26.8

GreenvilleMonday ................................. 42.4Tuesday ................................. 42.5Wednesday .......................... 42.7

VicksburgMonday ................................. 36.9Tuesday ................................. 37.0Wednesday .......................... 37.2

Van Continued from Page A1.

CommutersContinued from Page A1.

Sharp W. Banks, Jr.PHILADELPHIA, Miss. —

Sharp W. Banks Jr. passed away Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, in Mandeville, La. He was 87 years old.

He served as Superinten-dent of the Warren County Schools in Vicksburg for 38 years and was known as “the father of the county schools.” The honors he received were numerous but probably the one he treasured most was the Golden Lamp Award given by the state’s School Superintendents Association to the outstanding admin-istrator. He was the first recipient.

He was always visible in the community, serving on the Board of the YMCA and working with the Optimist Club, the Chamber of Com-merce, the Historical Society and the Country Club. He taught the Men’s Bible Class at Gibson Memorial Method-ist Church in Vicksburg for 20 years. Those who didn’t know him in person knew his voice from the press box announcing the football games in Warren County for 35 years.

Mr. Banks served in the Navy in World War II as a Radarman Third Class, receiving numerous com-mendations including the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon with four stars.

He is survived by his wife, Winnie Rogers Banks; chil-dren, Tere Banks of Colum-bus, Ohio, Paula Glen DeTrafford (Shelden) of Walker, La., Tina Henson (David) of Mandeville, and George Banks (Pam) of Mon-tesano, Wash.; grandchil-dren, Elisabeth Huffman and Kathryn Luther, both of Columbus, Rebecca Ramsey of Walker, Amy Ganucheau of Baton Rouge, La., and Melissa Banks of Montesano; and great-grandchildren Anson, Chase and Alyssa Huffman and Sophie Andres.

Visitation will be Tuesday at 11 a.m., with the funeral service following at 2 p.m. in the chapel of McClain-Hays Funeral Home, 1002 E. Main St., Philadelphia, Miss. Inter-ment will follow at Cedar-lawn Cemetery. Officiating

the service will be the Rev. Tere Banks.

O.D. BrownO.D. Brown died Tuesday,

Nov. 8, 2011, at his home. He was 78.

Mr. Brown was a retired construction worker.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Culla Morgan and Hammon Ross.

He is survived by three sons, Anthony Qualls, Ray Qualls and Willie Qualls, all of Vicksburg; and three daughters, Earnestine Ross, Dorothy Qualls and Ann Qualls, all of Vicksburg.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Holly Grove M.B. Church. Visitation will be at the church from 11 a.m. until the hour of service. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Flowers may be sent to the church Tuesday morning.

Charles T. Ervin Sr.TALLULAH, La. — Charles

T. “Tommie” Ervin Sr. died Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, at his home. He was 77.

Mr. Ervin was born in Crys-tal Springs, Miss. He lived in Tallulah for more than 70 years. He was a retired sales-man for Cotton Bakeries and a member of First Baptist Church. He was a U.S. Army Ranger from 1957 to 1959.

Survivors include his wife, Emily Ruth Ervin of Tallulah; one son, Chuck Ervin of West Monroe, La.; one daughter, Tiffany Anne Steers of Syla-cauga, Ala.; one brother, Ira Hugh Ervin of Tallulah; and three grandchildren.

Services will be at 3 p.m. today at First Baptist Church in Tallulah with the Rev. Crawford Williams officiat-ing. Visitation will be at the church from 2 p.m. until the hour of service. Burial will follow at Silver Cross Cem-etery under the direction of Crothers-Glenwood Funeral Home.

Pallbearers will be Hollis E. Ervin III, Richard Thomas, Ira Archie Ervin, David Hugh Ervin, Sammie Byrd and Eric Givens.

Honorary pallbearers will be Logan Steers, Triston Ervin, Larry Cox and the

Madison Parish Sheriff’s Department.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to the American Cancer Society.

Dr. Andrew W. GarciaDr. Andrew W. Garcia died

in Canberra, Australia, on Nov. 16, 2011. He was 69.

He was born in Roatan, Honduras, Oct. 31, 1942, and moved to Tampa, Fla., in 1946. Dr. Garcia received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from the University of South Florida and served in the Army before enter-ing Texas A&M University, where he received a masters degree in physical oceanog-raphy. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in meteorology from Purdue University.

Dr. Garcia worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers in Vicksburg for 39 years.

Andrew is survived by his wife, Heather Burns Garcia of Vicksburg; daughter, Fawn Burns Anderson (Scott David Anderson) of Danvers, Mass.; granddaughter, Emma Garcia Anderson of Dan-vers; mother, Annie Ducker

Garcia of Tampa; two sis-ters, Sharon Oleson (Donald Oleson) of Brandon, Fla., and Cleo Bechtold of Tampa; and nephews, Mathew Bechtold and Paul Thompson, both of Tampa.

Dr. Garcia was preceded in death by his father, Capt. Justo M. Garcia.

Visitation will be Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, from 4 until 6 p.m. at Riles Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to Heifer International at www.heifer.org, or to a charity of choice.

Raymond SmithRaymond “Ray” Smith died

Friday, Dec, 9, 2011, at his res-idence. He was 58.

Born in Memphis, Tenn., he had been a resident of Vicks-burg since 1967. Mr. Smith was a graduate of Mississippi State University. He was an avid hunter and outdoors-man. He owned and oper-ated Terra Verde Services. Mr. Smith was a member of Crawford Street United Methodist Church.

He is survived by his mother, Elizabeth H. Smith of Ridgeland; his fiancée, Elizabeth J. Ivy of Vicksburg;

three brothers, James Smith (Karen), of Higden, Ark., Don Smith (Denise), of Dallas, and Carl Smith of Garland, Texas; his aunt, Billye H. Dallas of Jackson, Miss.; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father, D. B. Smith.

Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Cedar Hill Cemetery, with the Rev. Craig Barnard officiating. Visitation will be at Riles Funeral Home Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. until the hour of service.

Memorials may be made to the American Heart Associa-tion, P.O. Box 16808, Jackson, MS 39236-6808, and to chari-ties of choice.

DEATHS

Conferenceapprovesclimate deal

DURBAN, South Africa (AP) — A U.N. climate con-ference reached a hard-fought agreement early this morning on a complex and far-reach-ing program meant to set a new course for the global fight against climate change for the coming decades.

The 194-party conference agreed to start negotiations on a new accord that would put all countries under the same legal regime enforcing com-mitments to control green-house gases. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest.

The deal also set up the bodies that will collect, govern and distribute tens of billions of dollars a year to poor coun-tries to help them adapt to changing climate conditions and to move toward low-car-bon economic growth.

Currently, only industrial countries have legally bind-ing emissions targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Those commitments expire next year, but they will be extended for another five years.